- Characteristics of ethical leadership
- - Recognize the qualities of the other members
- - Make decisions that contribute to the collective benefit
- - Take an interest not only in private goods, but also in the welfare of the whole
- - Communicate in a respectful and assertive way
- - Accept mistakes and offer solutions
- When does a professional lead ethically?
- - Complies with the standards or parameters established by their profession
- - Motivates others to praise or honor the profession to which they are dedicated
- - Act honestly and responsibly
- - Ensures compliance with the objectives previously set by the work team
- Examples of ways to lead ethically
- References
The professional exercises leadership in an ethical manner when they comply with a series of requirements or moral parameters, which are intended to protect the interests of a work team or a labor community.
A professional -or professional- is a person in charge of carrying out a certain work activity, such as doctors, lawyers, designers, editors, among others. In addition, the term is linked to certain educational canons related to excellence and moral codes.
A professional -or professional- is a person in charge of carrying out a certain work activity, such as doctors, lawyers, designers, editors, among others. Source: pixabay.com
Consequently, a professional is characterized by following a rigorous professional ethic; This consists of a set of rules and duties that any person must fulfill during the exercise of their profession. It should be noted that each profession has its own ethics, however, all agree that their objective is to contribute to the development of society and the common good.
On the other hand, leadership refers to a series of managerial qualities that a person possesses to influence the way a group acts. People with these abilities are known as leaders and their objective is to guide a work group to meet a series of goals and expectations.
From these definitions, it can be established that a professional leads in an ethical way when he directs a group of people based on the moral code imposed by his profession and by the work environment where he works.
Characteristics of ethical leadership
Currently, it is considered that the trait of ethics is a fundamental aspect that every leader must internalize. Likewise, for many authors, leading in an ethical way is an essential factor not only for the performance and performance of a work activity, but also to add value to today's society.
Therefore, ethical leadership is characterized by:
- Recognize the qualities of the other members
An ethical leader has the necessary empathy to recognize the capacities and aptitudes of each of the members of the work team. This allows you to value each member for their particular qualities and guide them appropriately during projects.
- Make decisions that contribute to the collective benefit
Every professional must make decisions, especially those who exercise leadership. However, for such leadership to be ethical, the professional must choose those options that benefit not only his team, but also society.
- Take an interest not only in private goods, but also in the welfare of the whole
In relation to the previous point, an ethical leader must act according to the collective good and not only for his own benefit. In other words, ethical leadership cannot be selfish.
On many occasions some leaders have failed to comply with this point; This is observed when, for example, someone from the manager or with an important position makes a decision that in some way benefits him (usually financially) but harms other employees or the environment.
The idea of ethical leadership is that the professional make decisions that benefit both their development and that of their community. At present, there are several legal regulations that protect the ethical conduct of people.
- Communicate in a respectful and assertive way
The professional who exercises leadership in an ethical manner has skills to communicate with other people; he does this in a respectful and empathetic way.
It is worth noting that communication is not only verbal, since it also includes body gestures. The ethical leader knows how to express himself openly, sincerely, and understandably.
- Accept mistakes and offer solutions
It is probable that some decisions made by the leader will not bring the team closer to meeting the established goals; In this case, the professional leader must accept the failures or mistakes made and offer solutions so that the team can achieve the objectives set out above.
Ethics may vary according to the regulations of each profession. Source: pixabay.com
When does a professional lead ethically?
Taking into account the previous elements, it can be affirmed that a professional leads ethically when:
- Complies with the standards or parameters established by their profession
For example: when starting to practice their profession, doctors take an oath where they affirm that the most important thing is the patient's health.
Therefore, these professionals should put aside their personal interests or their prejudices to focus on helping other people. This regulation is known as the principle of beneficence.
Therefore, leadership doctors have a duty to remind their colleagues of the need to uphold this oath throughout their professional careers.
- Motivates others to praise or honor the profession to which they are dedicated
The professional who exercises ethical leadership seeks that his colleagues feel proud of performing their duties. Likewise, it motivates others to practice excellence during the exercise of their profession.
- Act honestly and responsibly
This point refers to one of the characteristics mentioned above: a professional who leads in an ethical way is focused on the common good, so their actions are honest and responsible.
- Ensures compliance with the objectives previously set by the work team
For example: the objective of a group of bodyguards may be to increase the security of a certain place; in this case, the head of the security department is the one who must guide his colleagues to achieve this objective.
An ethical leader watches over the fulfillment of the objectives. Source: pixabay.com
Examples of ways to lead ethically
1- When an editor-in-chief motivates his colleagues to write quality content that reflects excellence and commitment, he is applying ethical leadership.
2- When the director of a school watches over the well-being of students and teachers, making decisions that favor all members of the educational institution, he is leading ethically.
3- The figure of the manager is very important for all companies; This happens because a manager who leads in an ethical manner perceives all the members of the company as a team and values the work of all colleagues, since each of them is essential for the development of the company.
References
- Amaya, C. (sf) Ethics and its role in understanding leadership. Retrieved on April 2, 2020 from Dialnet: Dialnet.net
- Blackman, A. (2018) What is Ethical Leadership? Retrieved on April 3, 2020 from business.tutplus.com
- Esmaelzadeh, F. (2017) Characteristics or fan ethical qualitative content analysis nurses experiences. Retrieved on April 3, 2020 from atmph.org
- Moorhouse, J. (2002) Desired characteristics of ethical leaders in business. Retrieved on April 3, 2020 from: dc.etsu.edu
- United Nations, (2019) Integrity and ethics: ethical leadership. Retrieved on April 2, 2020 from unodc.org
- SA (2016) Ethical leadership guide: definition, qualities, pros & cons, examples. Retrieved on April 3, 2020 from Cleverism.com
- SA (sf) Professional. Retrieved on April 3, 2020 from Wikipedia: es.wikipedia.org
- Sonnenfeld, A. (nd) Ethical leadership: the wisdom to decide well. Retrieved on April 3, 2020 from Google books: books.google.co.ve